Whitworth Men Blast Boxers

SPOKANE, Wash. – Demonstrating that they are starting to find consistency on both ends of the floor, the Whitworth Pirates rolled past visiting Pacific University 83-58 in a Northwest Conference men’s basketball game on Saturday night.

The Bucs improved to 15-4 overall and 9-1 in the NWC by shooting 58% from the field, holding the Boxers to 41% and grabbing a 35-20 edge in rebounding.

Four Pirates hit double figures in scoring, led by Colton McCargar’s 17 points. And for the second night in a row, the Whitworth bench outscored the starting lineup – 44-41. Daniel Zitani, the NWC’s leading scorer this season, had 14 points to lead Pacific (11-8 overall, 4-6 NWC).

There were three ties and three lead changes over the first 12 minutes of the game. When Riley Grandinetti drilled a three Pacific was within 20-19 with 8:19 to play in the opening half. But then the Pirates got going. Kenny Love’s three-pointer gave Whitworth its first double-digit lead of the game (33-23) and by the time McCargar drained a trey with 34 seconds left in the half, Whitworth had extended the lead to 46-23. Eric Moore finished the half with a three-ball for Pacific to pull the Boxers within 46-26 at the break.

After Budweiser Hawkins scored the opening basket of the second half for Pacific, Whitworth started to break the game open with a 12-4 run, which included a three from Dustin McConnell and another from McCargar. The Pirates led by 28 points, their largest lead of the game, on two occasions in the second half, the final time when Austin Wood hit a three from the corner for a 72-44 advantage with nine minutes to play.

“I think our offensive rhythm is much better now than earlier in the season,” said Whitworth head coach Matt Logie. “The guys have more confidence, they are sharing the ball well and making it really hard for teams to defend us.”

Whitworth was 30-52 (57.7%) from the field, 44% (11-25) from three-point range. In addition to McCargar’s 17 points, Christian Jurlina and Kenny Love came off of the bench for 13 points apiece. McConnell finished with 10 points and five assists.

But it wasn’t just the offense that worked well. Love’s six rebounds led the Pirates’ efforts on the boards and Pacific struggled to make shots against the Whitworth defense.

“Our defensive execution has really improved as well,” Logie said. “We are eliminating the individual mistakes we saw earlier in the season.”

Pacific took more than half of its shots from three-point range (25 of the 49 total attempts) and made eight of those long-balls (32%). Hawkins joined Zitani in double figures with ten points. Mitch Wettig led the Boxers with four rebounds.

Whitworth extended its winning streak over Pacific to 12 in a row.

The Pirates remain a game ahead of Whitman for first place in the NWC standings and will make an important road swing through Tacoma next weekend with games at Puget Sound (Friday) and Pacific Lutheran (Saturday).

2017-09-26T06:35:53ZOn this week's episode of Press Pass Pullman, Mike Leach discusses why 18-year-old football players aren't ready for the NFL and tells us what he thinks of people who think the Earth is flat. Jamal Morrow also joins the show to talk about the Cougars upcoming matchup against USC, coin toss misconceptions, and why cheeseburgers have him looking forward to WSU's first road trip next week.

By Shaun Rainey

2017-09-26T03:54:18Z2017-09-26T03:07:21Z2017-09-26T03:54:18Z

Head Coach Bob Stitt and Running Back Elijah Lee join host Shaun Rainey on this weeks show to discuss the tough loss to Eastern Washington and moving on to face Portland State. Riley Corcoran has the call of the game featuring the hail mary to Justin Calhoun. Ben Wineman updates us on all the other fall sports at UM.

The 11th-ranked Eastern Washington University football team scored 42 second-half points to rally from a 24-6 halftime deficit and opened the 2017 Big Sky Conference season with a 48-41 victory over Montana.

Ian Kolste passed for 473 yards and six touchdowns, three to senior wide receiver Kevin Thomas, as visiting Whitworth rolled to a season-opening 56-13 win at Central College (Iowa) on Saturday afternoon.

Ian Kolste passed for 473 yards and six touchdowns, three to senior wide receiver Kevin Thomas, as visiting Whitworth rolled to a season-opening 56-13 win at Central College (Iowa) on Saturday afternoon.

Whitworth opens training for the 2017 season on Saturday. The Pirates will have three weeks of practice before traveling to Pella, Iowa to take on Central College in the season opener on Saturday, September 2.

Whitworth opens training for the 2017 season on Saturday. The Pirates will have three weeks of practice before traveling to Pella, Iowa to take on Central College in the season opener on Saturday, September 2.

SPOKANE, Wash. – Fresh off of the most successful season in school history, four Whitworth University softball players have received All-West Region recognition through the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, which released its list of all-region teams on Monday night. All-Region recognition is based on voting by NFCA member coaches. Click here for the entire list of NCAA Division III All-Region teams. Senior pitcher Madi Perez and senior des...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Fresh off of the most successful season in school history, four Whitworth University softball players have received All-West Region recognition through the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, which released its list of all-region teams on Monday night. All-Region recognition is based on voting by NFCA member coaches. Click here for the entire list of NCAA Division III All-Region teams. Senior pitcher Madi Perez and senior des...

by Whitworth Athletics MARSHALL, Texas – Madi Perez and Rheanne Lewis led 17th-ranked Whitworth to a 3-1 win over 10th-ranked East Texas Baptist on Saturday afternoon, forcing a final winner-take-all game on Sunday for the championship of the Marshall, Texas NCAA Division III Softball Regional. Perez pitched a complete game to improve to 25-5 while Lewis went 3-3 at the plate with a home run to help the Pirates improve to 37-10 and earn their second win of the NCAA regional....More >>

by Whitworth Athletics MARSHALL, Texas – Madi Perez and Rheanne Lewis led 17th-ranked Whitworth to a 3-1 win over 10th-ranked East Texas Baptist on Saturday afternoon, forcing a final winner-take-all game on Sunday for the championship of the Marshall, Texas NCAA Division III Softball Regional. Perez pitched a complete game to improve to 25-5 while Lewis went 3-3 at the plate with a home run to help the Pirates improve to 37-10 and earn their second win of the NCAA regional....More >>

MARSHALL, Texas – Whitworth University won the opener of the Marshal, Texas NCAA Division III softball regional on Friday afternoon, but the Pirates could not complete a comeback in the nightcap and ended up with a split. Whitworth, ranked 17th in the latest NFCA Division III poll, knocked off 6th-ranked Texas-Dallas 5-3 in the opener.

MARSHALL, Texas – Whitworth University won the opener of the Marshal, Texas NCAA Division III softball regional on Friday afternoon, but the Pirates could not complete a comeback in the nightcap and ended up with a split. Whitworth, ranked 17th in the latest NFCA Division III poll, knocked off 6th-ranked Texas-Dallas 5-3 in the opener.